Ah, laundry day – a treasured pastime in any family (cue eye roll). If you’ve taken a stroll down the laundry aisle recently, you’ll likely agree that this household chore can get expensive. Detergents, softeners, stain removers, scent boosters (?) – is it really all necessary?
To some extent, yes, but there are options.
Take dryer sheets, for example. Even though the Snuggle bear is adorable and lovingly promotes scents such as “Blue Sparkle” (what that means exactly, I’m not sure), he’ll sneakily drain your wallet week after week.
In all honesty, dryer sheets probably don’t make a huge dent in your family’s budget. But at thrivesensibly, I like to believe that every penny counts. Why spend money if you don’t have to? What if I told you there was another way?
Several years ago, I read that dryer sheets could be replaced by aluminum foil. Yep, you read that right. A household staple I’m willing to bet is in your kitchen drawer at this very moment. The idea surprised me, but I figured it was worth a shot. After dozens of loads of laundry, I’m here to tell you that it works! Although your clothes won’t be as snuggly soft, static-cling is definitely reduced, and you’ll have a few extra dollars in your pocket.
Curious? Trying this new method is simple:
- Take a generous sized piece of aluminum foil and crumple it into a ball. Perfectionists, rejoice! There’s really no wrong way to do this. I only used one ball in my loads of laundry, but feel free to use more (I’ve heard of folks using as many as three).
- Place the ball in your dryer, and leave it there. No need to replace after each load of laundry – one ball will last you several weeks.
- If you notice your clothing is more static-y, it’s time to replace. Just make a new ball and recycle the old one.
In addition to saving you a few bucks every year, this Money Saving Swap is great for the environment, too. No more toxic chemicals (you didn’t really think Blue Sparkle came from nature, did you?) and no more unnecessary waste in your local landfill.
thrivesensibly 